A high school valedictorian denied her diploma after delivering a speech deemed too racy by her principal says she will not apologize for her choice of words.

Appearing on NBC's Today show, recent graduate Kaitlin Nootbaar from Oklahoma's Prague High School said she doesn't need her diploma nor does her school need her apology after using the word 'Hell' in her class speech.

'I know what I've achieved and the fact that I don't want to give an apology, maybe I'll never get my diploma and that's fine,' the 18-year-old told NBC's Matt Laurer on Wednesday.

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Won't back down: High school valedictorian Kaitlin Nootbaar has refused to apologize after delivering a speech at her high school graduation that included the word 'Hell' in it

Upset: Because of her refusal to apologize, her former high school has refused to give her her diploma which has upset both her and her father, left

Appearing by her father's side, David Nootbaar, a military veteran, expressed his pride in his daughter for not backing down and practicing her first amendment in her speech that drew laughter and applause by her fellow students.

'Why should she bow down to this man and give those rights away when so many young men are laying their lives on the line to protect those rights?' Mr Nootbaar said.

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Moving on without her diploma, Miss Nootbaar is preparing to start her freshmen year at Southwestern Oklahoma State University on a full scholarship this fall after receiving straight A's throughout her four years in high school.

When she went to collect her certificate from the school's administration office last week she was told she wouldn't be getting it until she wrote a formal letter apologising for using the unacceptable word.

Not needed: Despite denied her diploma, the straight-A student says she doesn't need it as she embarks on her freshmen year of college on full scholarship

Apology: The 18-year-old issued an apology to her school and teachers on Wednesday, however, after hearing of numerous calls of harassment over the issue

'We went to the office and asked for the diploma and the principal said "Your diploma is right here but you’re not getting it. Close the door we have a problem",' Mr Nootbaar told kfor.com.

The script for the teenager's speech - inspired by the film Eclipse: The Twilight Saga -
had been given to the school in advance of the ceremony.

It included the
word 'heck' but in the moments leading up to the ceremony she said she decided to change it to 'hell' instead.

'Right before I got on stage is when I talked it over with my classmates and the ones I had talked to were like no go ahead and say it!' she told NBC.

As her father explained: 'Her quote was, when she first started school she wanted to be a nurse, then a veterinarian.

Parody: The valedictorian, pictured, said that her speech was a parody of one given in the Twilight movie Eclipse

'And now that she was getting closer
to graduation people would ask her what do you want to do and she said
"How the hell do I know? I’ve changed my mind so many times."'

Furious, Miss Nootbaar said she won't be saying sorry because she doesn't think she did anything wrong.

'She earned that diploma she completed all the state curriculum,' said Mr Nootbaar.

'In four years she has never made a B. She got straight A’s and had a 4.0 the whole way through.

'She has worked so hard to stay at the top of her class and this is not right.'

Despite her upset, Miss Nootbaar did offer one apology to her teachers, however.

'I'm sorry about the problems that this has caused the school especially the teachers. I've heard that they've been getting calls from numerous people and that would be nice if that would stop,' she said.